Fly Away, Bluebird
by the-other-em
Summary: Aang and Katara are faced with the hardest thing parents should ever deal with: Losing their unborn baby.


**A/N: This story contains possible character death and quite a lot of sadness. I will promise you an ending that you are NOT expecting. Don't read this if you're not ready for a feelings roller coaster. This has so much emotional turmoil involved. I was seriously crying the entire time I wrote it. If you do start reading it I ask that you finish it if possible.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or LoK but if I did I would totally make this canon... well probably not because it IS a kid's show (*cough cough sorta cough cough*) but I would totally know it was canon in my head :)**

**Fly Away, Bluebird by AuthorEmilyRay**

**Rating: T for (minor) language and adult content.**

"Daddy, Daddy! Look at that!" Kya's high pitched voice could be heard somewhere on the other side of the crowded pavilion. Aang sighed, realizing for the first time that she was not by his side as he had previously thought. Hoisting his two year old son, Bumi higher onto his hip he made his way through the crowd, which parted easily once people recognized the Airbender tattoos. Normally Aang would never have gone out into public with his children, especially not on such a busy day, but Katara had said that she really needed some time alone and the kids had been so anxious to go to the new Republic City Zoo.

"Kya," Aang scolded slightly as he reached her, pulling her away from the glass wall that held in the Platypus Bears, "Please don't run away from me."

"I didn't run, Daddy. I walked." Frank as always.

"I need you to always stand right next to Daddy. You don't want to get lost do you?" She nodded her head, her long dark hair springing free of the bun she insisted on wearing. She was barely five and Aang could already see so much of Katara in those determined eyes.

"UN-CU SOSO!" Bumi screeched and Aang could barely steady himself as Bumi slipped over his shoulder and down his back, pattering away towards the man making his way towards them. Bumi quickly attached himself to Sokka's Arctic Seal boots.

"Little scamp! What's been going on?" He asked the two year old, who was only about the size of one of his feet. Bumi, while small for his age, made up for it in attitude. He and Toph got along quite well.

"WE SEE KOWA-WA-WA-WAS!"

"Ahh... really?" Sokka reached down and detached the child so he could walk, shuffling through the crowd towards his brother-in-law.

"Hi Uncle Sokka! We've been waiting for you for _hours_."

"What! Hours!" Sokka's voice became overly dramatic, causing both children to giggle, "Well I'll just have to make up for it now." He clapped Aang over the back, adding, "Sorry I was late, it hasn't _really _been hours has it?"

"No," Aang said, laughing, "We've been here almost thirty minutes."

"That's good. Where's Katara?" Sokka loomed over the crowd, his water tribe gene's giving him a considerable height difference to the average Republic City citizen.

"She's not coming... this pregnancy's been really hard on her."

"Oh..." Sokka saw something on Aang's face that worried him. If his friend wasn't saying anything it was because of the kiddo's, "Well if you want I can hang out here with the trouble maker's, and you can go take care of Katara."

"I wouldn't ask you to-" Aang started but Sokka held up a hand.

"Are you really going to deny me the chance to soil my niece and nephew? I'm only going to get a few chances to do this without Katara breathing down my neck."

This brought a laugh to Aang's lips, mostly because it was true, "Alright, alright! I'll come back and pick them up later this evening."

"No Daddy! Can't we have a sleep over at Uncle Sokka's and Aunt Suki's? Pppplllllleeeeeaaaasssseeeee!"

"That would be too much to ask," Aang said.

"Come on Aang," Sokka begged, "Ppppppllllleeeeeaaaaasssseeee!" Bumi almost died laughing at this and Kya's hopeful face turned back towards her father.

"Alright! If it's not too much trouble."

Sokka grinned, "It's never too much trouble."

"Thanks. Where's Suki?" Aang asked, looking around.

"Oh, she's out talking to a couple of kids at the gate. Apparently they were practicing with fans and she just had to step in and show them how a real warrior fights. She should be here soon..." Bumi was slowly making his way out of Sokka's arms and onto his shoulders, reaching desperately for the 'warrior's wolftail' that was just short enough to be out of reach.

After a few minutes of animal watching, Aang kissed his kids and excused himself. The crowd had dispersed somewhat to the further reaches of the park and he had no difficulty getting back to the entrance.

"Just remember that the fan isn't a weapon. It's an extension. It's power is your own." A familiar voice rang out clearly in the crisp morning air. Suki, devoid of her traditional Kyoshi makeup and uniform was currently repositioning the stance of a confused looking teenager. Aang made his way over to her, and as he neared she stopped what she was doing and jogged over to him, yelling at the kids to keep practicing.

"Hey, sorry. I got caught up with these guys. Are you guys waiting for me?"

"No I was just on my way out." He gave her a weary smile.

"Really? What's up? Are you okay?" Suki asked. She had always been a worrier.

"I'm fine. I'm going to go check on Katara." Aang tried to keep the worry out of his voice, but could tell by the look on Suki's face that he had failed.

"Is she doing okay? Is the baby okay?"

"I think we're almost out of the clear. The doctor said that the morning sickness should pass in the next few weeks. She didn't have any with Kya or Bumi so it's been hard getting used to."

"Ahhh. How far along is she?"

"Almost seven months. Although the doctor wants her to go past her due date because the baby seems very small. She barely looks pregnant!"

"Don't worry, Aang. I'm sure everything is going to be fine!" Suki patted his shoulder, "And soon she'll have another beautiful baby to take care of! Katara is strong and she knows what she's doing."

Aang smiled. Suki always knew what to say. She continued,

"So do you think I'm getting another niece or nephew. Cause I'll tell you right now- that Bumi is going to be a handful. You'll probably need another girl to keep him from floating away!"

"Ha! I don't know. I'm hoping for another boy, but Katara thinks it's a girl."

"Have you thought about names?" Suki poked him in the side, "I'll let you use Suki if it's a girl."

"Well we might take you up on that offer. We don't have a name for a girl yet. If it's a boy we've decided to call him Tenzin."

"Tenzin. I like it. It has a nice ring to it. Tenzin the airbender!"

Aang felt his heart tighten and tried not to show the pain on his face. He never talked about it with Katara, but he knew she thought about it too. The children that they produced were going to be the last chance of the Air nomads' return. Kya was already waterbending, and so far Bumi seemed to take after his Uncle Sokka- in both comedy and stick-waving. All aang wanted was an airbender. Just one. And he knew Katara was trying to give him one, but it really wasn't up to either of them. If it never happened he would let it go. Maybe he was supposed to be the last Airbender...

Suki jolted him out of his thoughts with a well calculated punch to the shoulder, "Hey! I was just kidding, you know, right?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Lost in thought." She smiled at him, knowingly.

"Well give my best to Katara. I better catch up with the hooligans before Sokka corrupts them."

Aang laughed and bid her a good afternoon. As he walked back to where Appa sat grazing steadily he wondered if Katara would be up for a relaxing swim in the bay around Air Temple Island. The water had always calmed her before and he made a mental note to get some cold papaya on the way home (something that his beloved wife only enjoyed while pregnant).

Appa grumbled out a greeting, lazily getting to his feet. In the heat of the morning the aging sky bison was interested in one thing only and it definitely wasn't adventuring or running errands.

Aang brushed the shaggy fur from his old friends' eyes and climbed aboard.

"Don't worry, Appa. I'm sure Katara will let you come swim with us."

Appa made a pleased noise and Aang felt him tense up waiting for the word to soar. With a smile Aang commanded,

"Yip yip."

Aang dropped the cool melon onto the counter and grabbed a knife from one of the drawers. Deciding that it would take to long he quickly air sliced it into small chunks. Loading them into a bowl he sat about the house looking for his wife. At this time in the morning there was really only one place he would find her. Hunched over in the bathroom, cursing silently at mother nature and morning sickness. He popped some papaya in his mouth, hoping that the sweet taste would overrule any of the tea that he had drunken earlier in the morning. The smell of the herbs that he consumed every morning really made the nausea worse for his wife, but he had learned that it was hard to wake up without the natural boost.

His caffeine addiction had grown worse when Kya had been born and needed constant rocking to stay asleep. It was during that year that he had really become accustomed to drinking tea continuously to keep himself awake.

Chuckling he realized that Monk Gyatso probably would not approve, yet he felt that it was a necessary upgrade in airbender tradition to drink energizing tea every morning.

When he got to the master suite he found the door shut tightly. He knocked gently, not wanting to disturb Katara if she had crawled back into bed. Hearing no reply he turned the handle and peeked inside. She was nowhere to be seen. Seeing that the bathroom door was also shut he sighed. There was no doubt that she was in there, and unfortunately that meant that there would probably be no swimming.

"Hey Katara? Are you okay?"

"Aang!" She sounded surprised. There was something else in her voice, but he couldn't place it, "What- what are you doing back?"

"Sokka took the kids for the day. So it's just you and me. Can I get you anything?" He tried to keep the smile in his voice. Maybe he could still talk her into going swimming with him, but he would have to play his cards right.

"Oh.. umm..." She trailed off and Aang pressed his ear to the door, listening intently, "Uh.. no. No. I'm fine..."

"Well do you mind if I come in?" He started to turn the door handle and found it locked. That was weird. She'd never locked him out before.

"NO! I mean.. um... no I'm going to be fine. It's just... the morning sickness... you know..." There was something wrong. Aang could hear it in how thick her voice sounded. He finally placed the tone.

"Katara, what happened?" He realized she had been crying.

"_Nothing! _I just... I want to be alone." He voice cracked on the last word and Aang felt his breath hitch. Should he really be this scared. With the last two pregnancies her hormones had been horrible. Maybe they were just getting her into a weepy mood today.

Maybe it was his training. Maybe it was his instincts. Or maybe it was just the fact that he loved and knew Katara better than anyone in the entire world, but he knew that he couldn't do what she wanted.

"Katara, please come unlock the door. I need to see you."

"Aang. I'll be out later. Please go away." Her voice was thick with tears. He looked around her nightstand for the key to the bathroom. They had started locking it at night because Bumi had learned that the toilet was really fun to play in, but she always kept a key close by in case she had to run in in the middle of the night.

"Please let me in." He heard the desperation in his own voice. She didn't reply.

"Katara?" Why couldn't he find that damn key? He could hear her moaning now.

Finally out of pure frustration he took a deep breath and practically blew down the door.

The bathroom was dark, the only light coming in from the small circular window above the mirror. He squinted into the darkness and found her.

She was huddled in the corner, hugging her knees tight to her body, which was an incredible feat for a pregnant woman. She was rocking back and forth, sobbing, her sweaty hair clinging desperately to her face.

He heard the bowl shatter against the tile. He was at her side at once, kneeling down. He placed his hand on the ground, trying to lean down further to see her face and stopped. He pulled his hand back feeling the warm liquid coating it. Lifting it into the light he felt his heart stop as he saw red.

"...Katara..." He could barely hear himself. She continued to cry, her breath jagged with pain and desolation.

He was so afraid of the answer, but he had to ask anyway, "Darling, what happened?"

"I... I think I lost the baby..." She managed to choke out before the sobs wracked her frame once more. He felt himself go numb. With shaking hands he pulled her forward, holding her as tightly as he could.

And there they sat, rocking gently back and forth. Aang didn't know if he trusted himself to speak. He could feel a great shift in the spirit world as his emotions threatened to throw him into the avatar state. But he couldn't let himself do that. Not here. Not now.

Katara needed him.

"I'm going to go call the doctor," He said trying to get up. She clung to him.

"Please don't!" Her words were muffled by his robes, "I don't want to be alone."

Aang thought about his options. There were a few people that lived with his family on air temple island. They were mostly people that didn't claim any nation, with mixed families. They had decided to pursue the Air Nomads way of life. This included everything that the monks had taught Aang, except for the actual airbending. But Aang had given them the day off from their training and most of them had gone into the city to visit their families.

"Katara. I'm worried for you and the baby. Isn't there a chance it can be saved."

"No..." She sobbed. "I don't know... I haven't felt him move in so long...I just thought I was imagining it... But it's too late now..."

The tears threatened to spill over as Aang held his wife closer to him.

"Katara, I'm so sorry I wasn't here earlier"

Her voice was almost silent, "...I was so scared..."

"Shhhh." He stroked her hair and rubbed her back, "I'm here. It's okay. We're going to get through this... together."

He slowly pulled away from her and quickly sent two fireballs to the lamps on the wall. The room was lit in a soft glow and Aang sucked in a breath. A pool of blood was slowly seeping away from the corner where his wife sat. She gasped, reeling in shock at the amount of red crawling away from her.

"I... I didn't know there would be this much blood..." She looked up at him. He had to be the strong one this time. He helped her up. She doubled over in pain as another contraction wracked her body. Keeping one hand around her waist her waterbended the tub full of warm water. Katara was wearing a simple robe and he helped her out of it, talking quietly. Looking back he couldn't remember exactly what he had said, and Katara didn't remember either. He didn't even know if the sentences were coherent or if he was just talking to keep both of them calm.

Slowly he helped his wife into the water. She sighed in relief as the small waves licked her back. She curled into herself once again, hiding her obvious belly from the world.

"I don't know why this is happening." Her head leaned against his shoulder. He cradled her softly as nature took it's course.

It seemed to go on for hours. He had no idea how much time was passing. He had never heard of anyone having a miscarriage so late in their pregnancy, although Mai and Zuko's first child had been stillborn. But Mai had carried that baby all the way to term. What was it called when the baby was miscarried so late? Would there have been anyway to save it... him... if they had caught this sooner? Would a baby born this early even be able to survive.

Aang suddenly felt very young and very small. Katara whimpered into his shoulder as another contraction hit her. They were growing very close together. He knew that it would be long.

Kissing her hair he tried to distract her from the pain. Kneeling on the side of the bathtub, his knees had long ago gone numb, but he pushed up and helped her lean forward.

"It'll be okay, Katara. I know it hurts, sweetie. But we're going to get through this."

"I know... I know..." She kept repeating this as the water grew murkier with blood. Her face was pale and sweat beaded her brow, "This hurts worse than the others..."

He rubbed her back.

"It's almost over, Darling."

"I know... I don't want it to be..." She sobbed, "I don't want to lose this baby."

Aang felt tears spilling down his cheeks for the dozenth time that day, "I know. I don't understand why bad things happen. But we have each other. And the baby will always be with us."

She turned to him. Her eyes were tired and hollow.

"Do you think he hates me?"

"No... No Katara, no. He knows that you would have been a wonderful mother. And it's nothing you did. Things like this just happen." Pain laced through her expression and she shut her eyes from the world.

"Katara?" Aang asked as she leaned back against the edge.

"It's time." Aang felt his heart pounding.

Katara was magnificent. Her body arched up as she pushed. Holding onto her hand, Aang could only feel a humble helplessness as he watched his wife. It didn't take long. He had a towel waiting. Reaching into the warm water he felt his baby's full head of hair against his palm. He slowly brought the child to the surface.

The face was so calm. So serene. And so small.

Aang pulled his baby from the water as Katara shakily steadied herself on the rim. He took the towel and wiped the baby clean.

"Is it a boy... or a girl?" Katara asked. Aang glanced down at the tiny baby in the towel. It was almost as if he was asleep. His tiny fists were up by his face, his skin so pale and his hair such a dark contrast.

"It's... Tenzin." Aang answered. Katara didn't say anything. She stayed silent the entire time Aang wiped his son clean and tied off the umbilical cord. She was still while he wrapped the baby tightly in the blanket. She stared straight ahead as he placed the child in her arms.

It was when she looked down at her baby that she lost control. The tears fell hot and steady upon the pale face poking out through the blankets. She leaned against the edge of the tub and cried.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," was all she could say. She pulled the baby tightly against her chest, wanting to pull him in and keep him there. Her heart was his new home now, but it was his small body that she didn't want to let go of.

Aang was had taken refuge against the side of the tub as well. His quiet sobs could be heard over the gentle noises that the water made. He could feel the spirit world moving with his pain and could feel that he would not be able to quell the spirits much longer. He focused on keeping them at bay and tried to block out the hole that seemed to be carving it's way into his chest.

Aang didn't know how long they sat there. It could have been an eternity. In all actuality it was probably less than a minute.

"Aang." Katara's voice seemed far away. He replied but he wasn't sure if it was out loud or not. Currently Roku was also fighting for his attention.

"Aang!" Katara's shrill voice was growing louder. There was another noise that he could hear now, too, although he couldn't figure out what it was.

"AANG!" He snapped back into focus. He hadn't realized that he had slipped into the avatar state, but he instantly felt the drowsiness that came with the out of body experience. He jolted back to reality and turned to face Katara, whose eyes were wide with fear and excitement.

"Aang- he's alive!" It was at that exact moment that Aang recognized the mysterious noise from before. How many nights had he been awakened by the same shrill noise from Kya and Bumi? How many times had he wished that they would just go back to sleep without any special attention. How many nights had he rocked his children to sleep hearing them cry in earnest.

"Oh, Agni!" Aang's cried in relief and was at their side in an instant, "Oh thank you!"

The baby, who only moments ago had been pale and still was now screaming at the top of his lungs. His stubborn protests at being born early were enough to send Aang's heart pounding through his chest. His son was alive. His son was alive!

"What happened?" He whispered in awe.

"I don't understand. He just seemed to wake up!" She placed a kiss on Tenzin's forehead and he shrieked in surprise. His face, which had been so pale only moments ago, was red and scrunched up in an expression that Aang could only describe as disdain.

"Okay, _now_ I'm going to call the doctor." Aang tried not to slip on the blood and smashed papaya as he raced out of the room and down the hall, his son's cries making him feel lighter than any airbending maneuver could.

"Well he's definitely a miracle baby, that's for sure." Sokka cradled his newest nephew who was scheduled to be released from the hospital in the upcoming week. He had only been alive for three weeks and he had already snuggled his way into the hearts of Republic City. There was something about being the tiny almost stillborn miracle baby of the Avatar that seemed to really play on everyone's idea of hope.

Katara had been released the week earlier, but she and Aang spent so much time in the hospital with Tenzin that it didn't really matter if she was an official patient or not.

Suki came in hoisting Kya and Bumi on both hips. Katara rushed over to help relieve her. The kids were staying with Sokka and Suki until Tenzin was released so Katara could get some rest.

"Mommy!" Kya immediately bustled into her mother's arms. Katara buried her face in Kya's hair, "Mmmmmm you smell good! Did you guys go swimming?"

Kya nodded enthusiastically, "In the ocean! Suki says that the Fire Lord is coming over to play with us later, is that true?"

"Well... I don't know if Zuko is much of the playing type..." Katara started, "But he does have a little girl. I'm sure she would love to have a tea party!"

Kya shook her head, "No. I wanna have a fighting tournament. Maybe she bends fire!"

"For a five year old, you are a little too smart." Aang interrupted, scooping her up. Bumi was once again distracted by "Unco Soso" who was on the floor with him, letting him touch Tenzin's soft hair.

"OOOhhhhhhh TEZZY! You soooooo soft. Like Aaaap-pa. OH! I bringed a pweasant for you!" He pulled out a large clump of what looked like Appa's fur from some hidden pocket inside his robe. A few of the hair flew tricked down from his handful and landed on the baby's face. The adult's in the room scurried over, all very protective of Tenzin. The doctor said any little thing could upset his delicate body. But before they could clear away the fur Tenzin took care of it himself, scrunching his face up tight before letting out a loud sneeze. The fur, both on his face and in his brother's hands flew up in a tornado of air.

They all stopped... and stared. Bumi was in heaven, dancing through the snow like flurry of fur.

Suki broke the silence "Did that baby... just airbend?"

Katara turned to Aang to see large tears falling down his face. He turned, grinning through his tears, to her and she embraced him tightly

Maybe there was a reason that everything happened in the way it did. Without the heartache he would not know to appreciate the joy.

And Tenzin was turning out to be a very big joy.

**A/N: Whew... what a bugger to write. I feel so drained right now... I was crying and laughing and crying again. I wanted to write something sad but I couldn't END it sadly. I also didn't want it to seem like it was too much of a sappy ending, but I feel it may have gone that way. OKAY I'm too much of a romantic to actually kill a baby! Geez!**

** Anyway I wanted to say a few things about late-term miscarriages and stillborn babies. I actually wanted to be a midwife for a few years in high school and college and studied up on it while I was interning at a midwifery clinic. I had some great experiences, but it was during this time that I really learned about the heartbreak of miscarriage. I'll never forget holding one mother's hand as she was told that she had actually miscarried and it wasn't just spotting. If you are a woman who has gone through a miscarriage or know someone who has I want you to know that I feel for you. I think I speak for all women when I say I love you. I support you. I want you to feel that you are not alone.**

**If you need someone to talk to just know that while we are strangers, I am available to listen and not judge. Miscarriage is a very sad occurrence in life and it is not something to be taken lightly. If you would like to talk please send me a message and know that I am praying for healing for you even before you start to type.**

**Also if you readers feel so led I would love to hear from you. Either leave me a review or send me a message :) Let me know what you thought and what you would change! I always love getting constructive criticism from people and it will help me with my future writing.**

**Thanks,**

**Lee**

**Find me here! (Psstt- look down)**

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**Deviantart- emyray**


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